Solid credit scores are now just as impressive/crucial as all-clear STD tests, according to the NYT: websites such as Creditscoredating.com proclaim that "Good Credit Is Sexy," online financial advice forum posters endlessly discuss credit and dating (don't they have anything better to do? probably not, because they are online financial advice forum posters), and marriage counselors and dating site executives say they're hearing way more concerns about credit than ever before.

Lest you think this is one of those Times trend pieces inspired by the reporter's sister's one friend in Bushwick (ahem), this piece is based on "interviews with more than 50 daters across the country, all under the age of 40." Are they all my landlord?

No. Here are some examples:

Lauren Dollard, a 26-year-old assistant at a nonprofit in Houston, said her low credit score had helped to stall her romantic plans. Her boyfriend is wary of marrying her until she can significantly pay down the more than $150,000 she owes in student loans and bolster her credit score, she said.

Ms. Dollard's credit score is so low, around 600, that she hasn't been able to qualify for a car loan. She sympathizes with her boyfriend's position because he "doesn't ever want to be accountable for the irresponsible financial decision I made," she said. Her boyfriend declined to be interviewed.

John Hendrix, a 33-year-old chemist in San Francisco, said he worried that the vast disparity between his girlfriend's credit score and his own low one could create tension in their relationship. When the couple leased a car in October, Mr. Hendrix had to leave his name off the contract because his poor credit scuttled his chances for the bargain interest rate that his girlfriend qualified for.

At first I thought this was dumb, but then I thought about recent conversations I've had with friends in relationships: one told me she was worried because her boyfriend hasn't paid taxes in two years, another is concerned about his girlfriend's credit card debt because she ignores it and keeps buying things, etc. "What's your credit score?" is just another (albeit awkward and excessively stringent) way of saying, "are you good at managing money and, if not, will I have to deal with your financial mess if we stay together?"